Flowers in Your Hair
by tiggytiger2012
Summary: Natsu challenges Lucy to stay up all night with him... This won't end well xD Nalu one shot LINK TO THE SONG USED IN THIS FIC- /watch?v sm4QUxMZYQw


**Flowers in Your Hair**

**7:24 PM**

"Lucy!" Natsu called, slamming the window open. She groaned from the kitchen, pausing in the salad she was making. He stumbled into the doorway, but before he could say anything, she stopped him.

"You left the window open, didn't you?"

He stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded, before disappearing, and reappearing seconds later. She turned back to chopping up lettuce, before asking, "Where's Happy?"

Natsu cursed, his onyx eyes wide, and bolted back to the window. There was muffled yelling, a crash or two, and then he returned with a disgruntled blue cat. Panting, he leaned on the counter.

"Now," he said, after catching his breath, "I have a challenge for you."

"I'm not gonna fight you, Natsu," Lucy interrupted, her eyes fixed on the table before her. She had set three places, but only two actually had the dinner that she made. The other one was simply a half-empty box of sushi she had found in the back of the fridge.

"It's not a fight," he retorted, and that got her attention. She looked up from her work and met his eyes, leaning on the table.

"Well, what is it then?"

"It's to see who can stay awake the latest."

She stared at him, thunderstruck. "... What's the point of that?" She asked hesitantly.

He and Happy both looked personally offended. Happy opened his mouth, ready to answer, but she stopped him.

"Actually, I don't want to know. But, I'll still do it," she interrupted, going back to her work. She wasn't sure why she agreed, but it looked like there was no backing out now. Pulling her chair out, she glanced up at Natsu, who was plopping down into his seat. "So just you, me, and Happy?"

"Nope!" The blue exceed answered her, already tearing open his package of sushi. "I'm not gonna do it. Cats need a lot of sleep, you know."

Lucy rolled her eyes, ready for a comeback, when suddenly she smelled something burning. She veered around to face Natsu, who was currently igniting his dinner with bright orange flames. He laughed at her expression of mild horror.

"What? It tastes better scorched."

**8:16 PM**

Natsu stretched out on the couch, hazily watching Lucy dig through her movies. She seemed to be looking for one in particular.

Happy had curled up on Lucy's bed as soon as they had finished dinner, and he was probably already fast asleep. Sleep... That sounds nice...

Natsu was jerked out of his thoughts when Lucy triumphantly leapt into the air, holding the desired movie in her right hand. She took the DVD out of the box and tossed the container over to him, which he caught with ease.

"Saving the Red Panda... A Documentary?" He read, glancing up at Lucy curiously. She had a mischievous grin plastered on her face, and she hopped onto the couch beside him. He obediently scooted over, giving her room to sit.

"It's good, I promise," she assured him, but he didn't quite believe her. She was up to something...

**8:31 PM**

They were barely fifteen minutes into the movie, and Natsu had already decided this was the most boring thing he had ever seen. It was just some guy talking about red pandas, accompanied by video footage of red pandas. He didn't even know what a red panda was!

He lazily munched on the popcorn Lucy had made him at the beginning of the movie. He had already figured out her plan; she was trying to bore him to sleep.

However, that wasn't gonna work.

Lucy was slouched way into the back of the couch, her knees drawn up to her face and her arms wrapped around her legs. Watching his target, Natsu quietly picked up some of his still-warm popcorn.

The popcorn got stuck in her hair, and to his dismay, she didn't even notice. He tried again, this time hitting her arm. She glared at him, but didn't retaliate. The next time, it hit her cheek.

She definitely noticed it that time.

Grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl she made for herself, she chucked it at him. He dodged, popcorn getting caught in his choppy pink locks, and grasped his buttery ammunition, firing back quickly.

"Quit throwing popcorn at me!" Lucy squealed, the frustration evident in her chestnut eyes as she bombarded him with popcorn.

"It's not my fault you decided to watch the most boring movie in the entire nation of Fiore!" He retorted. She stopped throwing popcorn.

"Fine then! You pick the next movie," she spat, staring icily at him.

He grinned, and waltzed over to the movie cabinet. Things were about to get interesting around here...

**9:24 PM**

Now this movie was much better. It was some horror movie that Natsu had already seen, but when he found it, it was still in its brand-new plastic wrap. Flustered, Lucy admitted that when she bought the movie, she had been too scared to watch it alone. After pointing out that she wasn't alone anymore, Natsu opened the case and played the movie.

Now they were at one of the most suspenseful parts, and Lucy was perched on the very edge of the couch- as in, she could topple over at any moment. She was curled into a tight ball, her trembling body surrounded by a blanket so that she could barely see the TV screen.

Should he?

He shouldn't.

But was that gonna stop him?

He quietly leaned over, but the celestial mage didn't even notice. He waited a moment, and then, softly whispered in her ear.

"Boo."

She screamed, rolling off the couch, and he fell back into the cushions, laughing. She glared at him from the ground, the blanket tangled around her legs.

"That wasn't funny, Natsu!" She screeched, but he didn't hear her. He was too busy wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Your face..." He wheezed, and the memory made him laugh even harder.

Groaning, she crawled back onto the couch. "Shut up," she moaned, "I can't hear the movie."

He immediately stopped and stared at her, blinking.

"What? It has a good plot."

He shrugged, and turned back to the screen. This was easily one of the scariest parts of the movie, the part where they think that the poltergeist has been defeated, but (plot twist!) it hasn't. He wasn't scared though; after all, he already knew what was going to happen.

But Lucy didn't. She shrieked at the jump-scare, rolling back into the couch and on top of Natsu. Her trembling hands grasped at his scarf and she pulled herself closer to him, clinging on for dear life.

For a moment he simply sat there, startled. Then he wrapped his arms around her frail body, leaving enough room for her eyes to peek at the screen.

"Don't worry, I won't let them get you," he comforted her softly, and her grip on his scarf tightened.

He barely heard her murmured response.

"I know you won't."

**10:46 PM**

"But I'm hungry!" Natsu moaned, dramatically clutching his stomach.

Lucy stared at him with a poker face. They had finished the movie barely ten minutes ago, and now Lucy was cleaning up all of the popcorn scattering the room. Natsu wasn't being much of a help, either.

"We just ate, Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, digging into her couch cushions. How'd the popcorn even get there?

"That was THREE WHOLE HOURS AGO!" The dragonslayer groaned, nearly rolling off the couch.

"Well maybe if you would have eaten the popcorn I made you instead of thrown it at me, you wouldn't be hungry."

He muttered something she didn't catch under his breath, crossing his arms stubbornly. His stomach growled loudly, and despite her current annoyance with him, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"Fine, you can have something to eat. But it has to be small! And clean up after yourself!" She gave in.

"Really?" He exclaimed, his head perking up. Due to that one small gesture, he rolled off the couch, toppling onto the ground in one graceful motion.

Lucy couldn't answer his question due to her uncontrollable laughter, but Natsu simply pretended like nothing happened and went to the kitchen to fix his snack.

**11:27 PM**

"You want to… watch magic flowers?" Natsu asked, looking at Lucy skeptically.

She nodded eagerly.

"But, 'magic flowers' kinda belittles them," she commented. "I mean, they are technically magic flowers, but they are so much more than that. For crying out loud, they glow in the dark! Only in the full moon, though. And I know a secret place where there's tons of them, but we won't be surrounded by a bunch of other people who want to see them too!"

Personally, Natsu wasn't that interested in seeing glow-in-the-dark flowers, but seeing how just talking about them made Lucy's eyes light up, he agreed to go. Squealing excitedly, Lucy quickly threw on a jacket, grabbed his wrist, and practically dragged him out the door.

**11:43 PM**

Despite the fact that they had been walking for a little over fifteen minutes, the wizards were still deep in the city of Magnolia. The place that Lucy was trying to get to was in the outskirts of the city, close to the countryside. It was probably a twenty-minute walk from her apartment, but at the pace they were going, they'd be walking for another half hour.

However, she didn't mind the slow speed that they were travelling at. It gave her time to admire the beauty of the city at night, and the extra time to talk to Natsu was also a plus.

The city was surprisingly lovely at night. At this time, the entire place had a sleepy atmosphere. Flickering streetlights lit their way, and the streets were mostly empty, not counting the occasional drunk that wandered by.

Tonight was a good night when it came to drunks. They had only seen two.

Well, three, counting the one that was hobbling over to the pair right now. As the wasted individual got closer, Lucy realized that it was a middle-aged man. His clothes were ragged and stained, his hair disheveled, and his cheeks had a reddish tone to them.

"Ay, pretty girl!" He slurred, drunkenly grinning. Despite the fact that he was still a distance away, she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Natsu glared at him, but Lucy calmingly put a hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her for a moment, and then kept walking.

"Come on! You know I'm talking to you!" He called out to her, his words seeming to trip over each other. Lucy felt Natsu tense under her small hand.

"Ignore him, Natsu. It'll be alright," she murmured, calmly looking up at him. The last thing she needed was for him to get into a fight, no matter how annoying the stupid drunk was. Natsu met her gaze, and stared at her for a long moment, before turning back to the path. Her hand slipped off his shoulder.

"Don't ya wanna hang out with me? Come on, leave that freak and lets go to my place," the man commanded. He was close enough now that Lucy could see the alcoholic fog in his pale eyes. She could see Natsu twitching out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't try to calm him.

The man reached out to her, his grimy fingers clasping onto her shoulder. She squealed, sliding out of her grip and glaring at the drunk furiously, but then a rush of pink and white dashed in front of her.

"Sorry, Luce," he muttered, and swung his fist at the man. The drunk fell to the ground from the force of the punch, clutching his nose.

Lucy squeaked as a hand grabbed her arm again, but this time, it was Natsu's.

"Lets get out of here!" He exclaimed, tugging her away from the scene. The two ran down the street, away from the flickering lights and cursing drunk.

**12:17 AM**

They were getting close now. Natsu could smell flowers, but there was something weird about the scent. It was like fireflies and flowers mixed together.

He wondered what it would smell like if he lit the flowers on fire.

Lucy's slim fingers wrapping around his wrist yanked him out of his thoughts. Her cocoa eyes were bright with excitement, and she tugged him along, grinning like a maniac.

"We're here!" She squealed.

"The magic flowers are... Here?" Natsu asked confusedly, looking around. He could smell the magic flowers, but they couldn't be here... Right?

They were in the outskirts of the city, at some old building ruins. The area had a gloomy, lost feel to it, and all that remained of the homes from before was crumbling walls and overgrown weeds. Lucy was pulling him to a huge decaying wall that was probably a mansion once. Sure, the place reeked of flowers, but... This area was not one where someone would expect to find magic flowers.

"Yes, they're here!" Lucy exclaimed, too excited to be annoyed with him.

She pulled him to the old mansion and through a rotting wooden door. She let go of his wrist and bounced into the building, but he stayed in the doorway, speechless for possibly the first time in his life.

In front of him was the ginormous mansion, which, when occupied, was probably very elegant and beautiful. However, years of life in the wild had led to the building falling apart. It no longer had a ceiling, so the light of the full moon shone down on the rubble-covered floor. The only wall that was still intact was the one with the door; the rest had all pretty much crumbled to the ground. Grass and weeds had taken over the building, making it look like the ground was covered in overgrown green carpet, and there was even a large tree growing in the debris-covered field.

But that wasn't the amazing part.

No, that was far from it.

The amazing part was the flowers.

They were everywhere. Swaying in the grass, climbing up the fallen walls, even in the tree branches! The petals were bright orange, and towards the edges, they turned red. But the awesome part was the light.

In the center of each little flower, a bright yellow light was shining. They looked like natural lanterns. The entire decayed mansion was lit up, and he wondered how he failed to see this before.

Lucy was peacefully walking through the flowers, her golden hair softly rippling in the cool breeze. She looked over her shoulder at him, waving him over. He eagerly jogged to her, his nose full of the firefly-flower smell.

It smelled oddly good...

He knelt down admire one of the flowers at a closer distance, and she sat with him, her legs bent comfortably. The petals were smooth and soft, and upon closer inspection, he discovered tiny glowing orbs in each flower.

"It's almost like each flower has it's own teeny fire going," he commented, and Lucy nodded eagerly.

"How did you even find this place?"

She quietly looked at the ground, and her smile weakened a slight bit. For a moment, he thought she wasn't gonna answer.

"My mom used to bring me here a lot before she... Yea," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the ground.

"... Oh."

Her fingers distractedly played with the flower petals, her eyes swimming with memories.

"Nobody really knows why these flowers glow, so Mom and I liked to come up with theories as to why they do." Lucy smiled to herself, and Natsu listened intently, happy to relive her memories with her.

"My favorite one said that there were little fairies that lived in that tree over there. Every single night, they would put a little bit of fairy dust into the middle of the flowers, but since it takes a lot of fairy dust to make them glow, they only glowed at the full moon. Then the fairy dust grows old, and they have to start all over again."

She weakly laughed to herself.

"I know it's not true now, but I like to remember."

He quietly listened.

"Sometimes, we would make flower crowns together. She'd make one for me, and I'd make one for her. She would put flowers in my hair, and she would tell me stories from before I was born. We'd play games, and when I got tired, she would teach me about the constellations."

For a while, they sat in a comfortable silence, Lucy lost in memories and Natsu gazing at her.

He didn't know what possessed him to do what he did next, but he wasn't complaining.

And neither was she.

In one small tug, he uprooted one of the flowers. It kept its luminous glow, and Lucy didn't look up as he carefully ripped the stem from the roots.

His calloused hand gently turned her head to him, his thumb stroking her cheek softly. Her eyes widened, their chocolate brown depths filled with confusion and wonder, and her cheeks flooded with bright red. He carefully brushed her hair behind her ear, and then tucked the flower behind her ear.

For possibly the first time ever, he understood what beauty was.

Seriously, how did he not notice this before?

His partner was freaking beautiful.

Her hand surrounded his, and he kept stroking her warm cheek, and his charcoal eyes were staring at her with an intensity she had never seen before.

After a long moment, Natsu finally came to his senses. He let go of her, and her hand simply plopped onto her lap. He laid back into the ground, surrounded by the scent of glowing flowers and wild grass and Lucy. She flopped down beside him, the flower still in her hair.

"Say, Luce, are there any constellations up there tonight?"

**1:09 AM**

"Do you ever miss him?"

Jerked out of his thoughts, Natsu sat up, staring at Lucy. She had told him about all the constellations in the sky, and after a while they fell into a comfortable silence. Neither had fallen asleep, but that didn't mean that they weren't sleepy.

"… What?"

"Igneel. Do you ever miss him?" Lucy sat up with him, her curious brown eyes meeting his.

"Well… yeah. I mean, he was my dad… I don't regret joining Fairy Tail or anything, but I still wish he was around," he answered, his eyes staring up at the sky, tracing the constellations he had learned earlier that night (or, morning). He almost added that since he had met Lucy, the pain of being abandoned had lessened, but he caught himself right in time.

"I wish I could find him…"

She smiled at him comfortingly.

"He'll find you when he's ready," she soothed, looking up at the stars with a knowing look in her eyes. He was confused by her comment, but didn't question it, simply looked at the stars with her.

His eyelids were drooping.

No! He couldn't fall asleep!

Suddenly, he had an idea.

He stood up, towering over the celestial mage.

"Hey, Lucy."

She glanced up at him, her eyes shimmering quizzically.

Slowly, carefully, he reached out to her, his fingers brushing her shoulder.

"Tag! You're it!" Natsu shrieked, laughing like a maniac, and bounded away from the blonde. It took her a moment to react, but once she did, it was on.

"Hey!" She squealed, bolting after him. She reached out and managed to swipe his shoulder blade, and then she quickly sprinted away. However, it wasn't long before he caught her.

The delicate, flower-covered ruin, once calm and peaceful, was now filled with shrieking laughter and excited squeals.

**2:25 AM**

Natsu slammed the apartment door behind him, grinning. After the game of tag, the two had quite literally fallen into the grass, until someone (he honestly didn't remember who) suggested going home. It was a nice walk, filled with conversation and laughter and bright-eyed smiles.

Now Lucy was slipping her sneakers off and Natsu was leaning against the wall, wondering about what mischief he would cause next.

"Well, you make yourself comfortable, I'm gonna go take a shower," Lucy announced, tossing her jacket on the couch.

"Can I go with you?" Natsu asked eagerly, not even thinking about the question. He bounced off the wall in anticipation.

"OH HELL NO!" She shrieked, her cheeks burning furiously, and then whipped around and bolted to the bathroom.

Natsu fell back onto the wall, laughing maniacally. If she so desperately wanted him to stay, why had she been grinning like a madman?

Back in the bathroom, Lucy carefully took the flower out of her hair. The glow had dimmed, but it was still there, even if it was faint. Smiling softly to herself, she set the flower in the medicine cabinet, making a mental note to move it to her bedroom later.

**3:17 AM**

Natsu fiddled with the radio confusedly. Lucy was still in the shower, and he had never seen a radio this complex before. He kept changing the station, looking for something interesting to listen to.

_Let's be alo_-

_We are far_-

_Things we los_-

_How can I for_-

_Ligh_-

"PUT THAT SONG BACK ON RIGHT NOW!" Natsu jumped at Lucy's angry shriek, and almost fell off the couch. However, he obediently put the song back on.

_The memories come and go_

It was some guy playing guitar, but it sounded kinda nice. Not necessarily what Natsu was looking for, but he didn't dare change the station again.

_You're all I've ever wanted_

Natsu looked up to see Lucy come bounding down the hallway, dressed in gray pajama pants and an old t-shirt. Her dripping hair swayed behind her.

_You're all I've ever known_

She held her hand out to him invitingly, and he stared at her in confusion.

_Can I be happy, living with your ghost?_

"Come on! Let's dance!" She exclaimed, her chestnut eyes shimmering.

_The pictures tell the story_

"Dance?" He asked quizzically, and she rolled her eyes.

_I took them off the wall_

"Yes, dance! This is one of my favorite songs!" She grabbed his wrist and tugged him over to the kitchen, for it had the biggest floor space. On the way out, she turned off the living room light.

_It's hard enough to get through_

He stared at her blankly, confused as to what he was supposed to do next.

_I still can feel the fall_

"Here," she murmured, and stepped closer to him. She placed one of his hands on her waist, and held the other one in her own. She set her free hand on his shoulder.

_Do you even, think of me at all?_

They stood there, motionless, and Lucy realized that Natsu actually had no idea what he was doing.

_Oh, I want you…_

"Follow the beat," she tutored him softly, and she slowly began to turn their bodies to the beat of the music.

_Only you…_

"Now you try," she stopped moving, waiting for him to take the lead.

_I want you…_

He stood for a minute, listening to the quiet song.

_Only you…_

He began to turn them, and their eyes met.

_I can start it over_

She buried her face in his neck, enjoying his smoky scent.

_And find somebody new_

He pulled her body closer to his, softly swaying to the music.

In that moment, all was right with the world. But of course, all good things had to end.

_Just a hand to hold on to_

In the midst of their sleepy heaven, Natsu tripped over Lucy's pant leg. The two fell backwards against the wall, and somehow in the fall, someone shut off the light switch. The room was dim now, for the only light on in the entire apartment was the bathroom light, which was down the hall.

_But if you ask me,_

Lucy had landed with her back pressed against the wall, and Natsu was on top of her, pinning her to the wall. She was happy for the dark, that way he wouldn't see the blush tainting her cheeks.

_Would that love be true?_

"I swear, if I wasn't half asleep right now, that wouldn't have happened," Natsu apologized, and Lucy giggled.

_No, I want you…_

However, nobody moved.

_Only you… _

If anything, they moved closer to each other.

_I want you…_

His intense charcoal gaze met her enchanted chocolate one.

_Only you…_

He was beginning to like this song.

_I wanna taste you again_

Her small hand reached out, softly caressing his cheek.

_Like a secret or a sin_

He leaned closer to her, but she didn't complain.

_Breathin' out, _

Their eyelids fluttered.

_Breathin' in,_

He was so close now, that she could feel his hot breath on her lips.

_There's no one else,_

He closed the distance between them.

_For,_

Her free hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, her fingers squeezing his scarf.

_Me,_

His hands traveled around her back, hoisting her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, which she did with no complaint.

_But you…_

**11:47 AM**

Wiping sleep out of his eyes, Happy drowsily walked out of Lucy's bedroom. He lazily wondered who won the contest. The apartment was oddly quiet…

He made it past the hallway, into the kitchen.

And he froze.

Natsu and Lucy were sprawled out on the floor, snoring softly. They were wearing clothes (thank god, Happy thought, the guild didn't need anymore Grays), but Natsu had his arms wrapped around her, and Lucy was resting her head on his chest. One of the two had attempted to get a blanket in the middle of the night, and it was currently tangled around their legs, which were tangled around each other. Lucy sleepily snuggled against her dragon-slayer pillow, and as if he felt her, Natsu pulled her closer. Happy could hear a radio faintly playing in the living room.

While quietly chewing on a fish that had appeared from seemingly nowhere, he decided that nobody had won the contest.


End file.
